The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1887-05-05
A MYSTERY EXPLAINED.
New York CavaIrymau Tries His Hand at Spinning
Yarns.

Yarns.
EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: Some time ago
comrade asked the cause of the mysterious
firing on the extreme right of Grants army in
the Fall of 1854. / believe i know something
about it. Kautz's Division of Cavalry was
doing picket duty on the right bank of the
James River. The left Of the division rested
on Birney's right flank, while the right rested
on the river. below the pODtoon bridge. Every
one knows that ia % and 20 the cavalry were
not idle. Every few days we would be ordered
to feel the enemy or go a raid to cut some of
the railroads running into Petersburg or Rich
mond.
One morning received three days rations
and WAS sent on picket. / went on the first
relief, and was posted near the old breastworks
on Malvern Hill, in the edge OF some timber.
The hours flew by. knew / had stood two
hours then four, then six, and then night came,
aud still no relief. BY morning began to
think something was up. My orders were to
hold the post until driven in.
The second day looked nj my surroundings,
and found that was on an old battlefield.
There were large numbers of shells lying on
the ground. 1t almost seemed at times as il l
| could see the boys in blue emerge from the
woods and cross the slope TO charge the rebel
lines. The boys must have made the rebcs
thirsty, for saw where they had been trying
TO dig well. They had dug hole about Ia
feet deep, found no water, and quit. began,
merely TO be doing something TO gather up all
the shells could find in the neighborhOOd
| and throw them into that old dry well. The
more shells i threw in the we'll the more |
wanted. went as far from my post as dared
TO get them, and as was out there four days
aud nights without any relief, took some lib
critics and went quite ways for them. l found
| lOO-pound Shells some percussion shells, and
indeed those OF almost every caliber then in
use.
The fourth day j could find no more, so /
amused myself by gathering up the poles the
rebels had made hunks of aud throwing them
in the well on top of the shells. Then piled
up heap of them over the we'll. had just
completed my task when some of the boys came
in view. They told me the command had been
| on raid, and the picket-line had been shor-
tened and drawn in. | had been overlooked.
/ quietly touched match 10 my brush pile,
and started back TO camp. About IL o'clock at
night heard q tremendous artillery fire. /
jumped from my bunk, thinking We were in
for 1t. ITO arms" sounded she bugles and
| drums were busy. / went to the tent door and
got correctly the direction the firing came from.
thought moment and then went back to bed
In the meantime Ksrutz's Division was swung
around so as TO present a front to the rear, and
| Birney swung the right of his division back SO
as TO present better front to the supposed enc
my. The boys were out oil night. i never
dared to say word about ii to any one while
the war lasted, as the consequences might have
been serious. / got a chance To see that old
dry well about two weeks afterward, and there
was hole in the ground you could have put
house into. Gen. Grant in his book speaks of
il, and says 1t was most probably some scouting
party, or words TO that effect. / have often
heard it spoken of. aud now your readers will
know the cause.-SILAs w. BARNARD, Co. Ii,
Sd N. Y. Cav, olathe, Kan.